Forum: “The Left and Labour in Russia Under Putin”

Since the collapse of the old Soviet Union in the 1990s and the end of the politically bankrupt
regime of Boris Yeltsin in 2000, Vladimir Putin has consolidated power in Russia. He has ruled
over an economy growing at about 7% per year, and, in Kagarlitsky's view, establishing Russia as
an 'empire of the periphery'. The left and workers have faced enormous challenges in the new
(and not so new) Russia in the face of massive economic restructuring and major political obstacles.
This discussion will address how the left, workers and unions are attempting to re-group and respond
to these challenges.

Kagarlitsky's latest book is Empire of the Periphery published by
Pluto.